Three States of Water F3 Piece

kaleiJuly 29, 2017 @ 12:01PM

F3 Piece Helps Teach About the Three States of Water

This little F3 piece can be a great review piece that asks learners to recall the three states of water - solid, liquid, and gas. Younger learners may just write the words solid, liquid or gas on the appropriate piece while older learners may tell a sentence or two about the unique state.

To use this resource, simply print out, cut apart, fill-in, and glue. The instructions are included on the sheet. This is a one-page activity. You can use the finished product as a stand-alone piece, glue it into a science notebook, or add it into an existing project or unit study.

Additionally, you may want to use the three states of water to teach about the Holy Trinity.

Use this F3 piece to teach about science, but also to help teach about the Holy Trinity. As both the Trinity and matter have three distinctive units, this lesson is very easy to comprehend as a metaphorical teaching tool.

The three states of water is one of the easiest and clearest ways to teach about the Trinity that I have come across. I have seen lots of other examples like members within a family, parts of a plant and so forth, but by far this is the easiest and most tangible way to illustrate this most important facet of our Faith. The following has been successfully in my CCD or Religious Education classes.

*I like to incorporate science experiments into the classroom as much as possible. Since God is the Truth and science seeks to bring about the Truth, I am never afraid to use science as a teaching tool.

A simple illustration of this lesson starts with:
• a water bottle of water,
• a small sealable sandwich bag filled with ice cubes,
• a small saucepan with a lid,
• a clear glass bowl,
• a hot pad to put your pot on once it has finished boiling so that the children can view the changes
• a stove

I might begin the lesson by asking what is in the bottle. The kids usually say water or even H2O, sometimes. I take a sip from the bottle to show that it is just water, and then I pour the contents into the pot and put it on a burner on high to boil. While the water comes to a boil, I usually talk about the concept of one God in three distinct natures - the three points of the Trinity. I mention that the word 'trinity' is connected with the number three from the Latin word trinitas. I give examples such as the words: tricycle, triangle, trident, and finish with the word Trinity. Then I show God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as I count on my fingers, one for each distinct person of the Trinity.

The next step is that I ask them how can they see or experience water? They say - ice, snow, liquid. (Almost always someone will forget to say steam.) We talk about how they all have things in common (chemical make-up of H2O) but also how they are different. At this point, I encourage the children to watch how the water in the pot is changing. At its peak boiling point, I take the lid off showing the steam, and then I place the bowl over the boiling water to have it condense and fall back out as water again. Lastly, I put the ice cubes in the pot and boil it up before their eyes and follow with more steam catching. They see how the three states are really connected.

The Trinity is connected as well, I tell them. The steam is like God the Father; we can't see Him, but we can feel His presence and see the results of His creation. God the Son is like ice because we can hold it touch it, see it; it is tangible just like when our Lord was flesh and walked on the earth or is present in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Spirit is the water of Baptism. See...three states of water and the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

It takes about fifteen minutes to complete this lesson, and it really helps solidify both the concepts of catechism and science in their minds and hearts. I finish out your lesson by using the F3 piece for science to review the Trinity.